Indian Railways Turns Gau Rakshak: Finds Solution After 245 Cows Get Run Over By Trains In Palwal-Dholpur Stretch

Data obtained from Indian railways has revealed that between a 190 km stretch of Palwal and Dholpur, speedy trains have run over 245 cows in the past five months, Times of India has reported.

The 190 km stretch of Indian railway tracks between Palwal and Dholpur passes via Haryana, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan.

These cows are left to graze in the fields by their owners. Fields along railway lines are ideal spots for cows to graze. Many cows wander off to the tracks during the grazing and are unfortunately run over by the trains.

The data revealed that the 47 cows were killed in August, 69 in July, 43 in June, 41 in May and 35 in April. These cattle run over have cost railways a total delay of 5,212 minutes (~87 hours) in 152 days beside the loss to the cattle owner.

Delhi-bound Rajdhanis arriving via Agra division has run over 16 cows. Gatimaan and AC Express ran over seven cows. Six cows were hit by Shatabdi, Five by Durontos, four by Taj and one by Humsafar.

The railways has, in order to tackle this problem, started digging trenches along the railway tracks. Barbed wires and safety walls have already been constructed on both sides of half the tracks.

“The prime reason for so many cattle run over by trains is negligence of their owners, who leave their cows and other cattle to graze near railway tracks,” said Sanchit Tyagi, divisional commercial manager, Agra.

“Majority of these train hits were reported on Palwal-Kosi Kalan, Mathura-Farah and Dholpur-Mania sections. Due to this, our trains get delayed and there is always a risk of derailments. To curb this menace, we have now started digging deep trenches along the railway tracks, which cattle will not be able to cross.”

“Besides, more than half of railway tracks have been secured by barbed wires and safety walls on both sides. Our local railway teams are also visiting nearby villages to create general awareness among villagers to not let their animals graze near railway tracks,” the official added.